Tees Valley Joint Waste Management Strategy
2020 to 2035
Contents Next Steps ...... 13 Contents ...... 2 Measuring Success ...... 13 Introduction ...... 1 Glossary of Terms ...... 14 Policy Context ...... 1 Annex: Waste Management Data ...... 15 How our Strategy has been developed/evolved ...... 3 This Strategy Document ...... 3 Waste Management in Tees Valley ...... 5 Tees Valley ...... 5 Council Waste Services ...... 5 How much waste is produced in Tees Valley? ...... 6 Waste Trends ...... 7 Recycling and Composting Performance ...... 7 Treatment and Disposal Performance ...... 8 Our Vision for the Future – Sustainable Waste Management ...... 9 Strategy Objectives and Targets ...... 9 How Do We Achieve the Strategy Vision? ...... 9 Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling Options ...... 10 Recycling and Composting Collection Options ...... 10 Residual Waste Treatment Options ...... 11 Options Appraisal ...... 11 The Preferred Option ...... 11 Delivering the Preferred Option ...... 12
Introduction Policy Context The way that waste is managed in Tees Valley has been shaped by This document is the Joint Waste Management Strategy for Tees both National and European policies that has evolved over time Valley. It has been produced by the five local councils that setting out targets for recycling, limits on landfill, and encouraging comprise Tees Valley: Darlington Borough Council, Hartlepool activity around waste prevention. Borough Council, Middlesbrough Council, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The UK’s decision to leave the European Union does create a degree of uncertainty over the future development and The strategy sets out the joint approach to the sustainable implementation of environmental policy and legislation, management of waste within the Tees Valley and prioritises actions particularly over the next few years. for the next fifteen years. It provides the framework for how the councils will work towards reducing the amount of waste produced, However, the 25-Year Environment Plan published by Defra in to recycle as much material as possible and find the most January 2018 makes a number of statements with regards to future environmental policy and legislation sustainable solution to deal with any waste that remains. In the Foreword, the Prime Minister states: In recent years the amount of waste produced in Tees Valley has ‘When the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, control of remained relatively constant and the amount of waste sent to important areas of environmental policy will return to these shores. landfill has reduced. However, there has been no increase in the We will use this opportunity to strengthen and enhance the amount of waste recycled. Currently only 34% of the household protections that our countryside, rivers, coastline and wildlife waste produced is recycled. So, there is still much more to be done habitats enjoy, and develop new methods of agricultural and before recycling becomes second nature and the amount of waste fisheries support which put the environment first.’ everybody produces each year falls. Further, in Section 2 on ‘Putting the Plan into practice’, it states: ‘The Plan coincides with the once-in-a-generation opportunity presented by our leaving the EU. We will make the most of the chance to improve our environmental policy framework, align it with the ambitious goals we have set, and lead from the front in pursuit of higher standards across the world.
1 The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill will ensure that the body of option. Producing recyclable material of a high quality is also existing EU law, including environmental law, continues to hold important so that further treatment and disposal is minimised. sway in the UK. Key underlying principles of existing policy, such as the ‘polluter pays’ principle and the precautionary principle, are Alongside the waste hierarchy is the concept of the circular reflected in this legislation and in the historic judgements of the economy (Figure 2 ), in which: European Court, also covered by the Bill. resources are kept in use for as long as possible; We will be consulting on the development of a policy statement on the maximum value is extracted from them whilst in use; environmental principles to underpin policy-making post-EU Exit. This will provide maximum certainty about environmental products and materials are recovered and regenerated at the regulations as we leave the EU.’ end of each service life.
In addition, with regards to minimising waste, the 25-Year Plan makes the commitment: ‘meeting all existing waste targets1 – including those on landfill, reuse and recycling – and developing ambitious new future targets and milestones’.
A new Resources and Waste Strategy is expected to be published by Defra before the end of 2018. Defra’s stated ambition is for the UK to ‘become a world leader in resource efficiency, resource productivity and increasing competitiveness’.
This strategy and current national policy are based on the principle of the waste hierarchy (Figure 1 ). The waste hierarchy is an Figure 1 Waste hierarchy important approach in waste management and it presents a number of waste management stages in their order of priority. It stresses the importance of preventing waste being created in the first instance as the main priority and disposal as the lowest priority
1 EU targets as well as UK
2 How our Strategy has been developed/evolved In 2008 the Tees Valley councils produced a joint strategy for the wastes collected and managed by the councils. The principles of the 2008 strategy were:
to reduce waste generation;
to be achievable and affordable;
to work towards zero landfill;
to minimise the impact on climate change;
to have an accountable and deliverable structure;
to contribute towards economic regeneration.
This document considers the work that has been undertaken since the original JWMS was published in 2008 and reviews current performance. It also sets out the strategic objectives that are
important to Tees Valley going forward and how it is proposed to Figure 2 Tees Valley Strategic Economic Plan 2016 – 2026 (Tees Valley Combined Authority) support the changes required to meet these objectives. To support the delivery of a circular economy the following targets This Strategy Document have been agreed in Europe, which the UK are expected to adopt:
2 This document covers the period from 2020 to 2035 and sets out 55% recycling target for municipal waste by 2025 Tees Valleys approach to the management of Local Authority 60% recycling target for municipal waste by 2030 Collected Waste (LACW) over this timeframe. The strategy will 65% recycling target for municipal waste by 2035 subsequently be supported by action plans for each council, which 10% limit on the landfilling of municipal waste by 2035 provide detail of individual activities at a local level.
2 Municipal waste consists of the wastes collected and managed by local It is intended to review the strategy on a five-yearly basis. authorities (known as Local Authority Collected Waste (LACW)) and similar commercial and industrial wastes.
3 This strategy document has been developed alongside and supported by:
an Options Appraisal which considers a number of different ways to achieve the objectives in this strategy; and
A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), which has been carried out to determine if the activities that are proposed to progress in Tees Valley are likely to have any significant adverse impact on the environment.
4 Waste Management in Tees Valley and drinks cartons. These materials are either sorted at the kerbside or at a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) and then sent to Tees Valley a variety of end markets for sale or further reprocessing. Tees Valley covers an area of 790 km2 hectares and has a rich industrial heritage with an economy based around key sectors Refuse is collected weekly in Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees including advanced manufacturing and engineering, aerospace, and fortnightly in Darlington, Hartlepool and Redcar and Cleveland. automotive, chemicals and processing and offshore oil and gas. Garden waste is collected free of charge fortnightly by all The population of the area is approximately 670,000, averaging 2.3 authorities, with the exception of Darlington where no service is inhabitants per household, with much of the population centred currently provided. around the River Tees and Teesmouth. None of the authorities collect food waste, either mixed with the As with many areas that had a strong historic industrial heritage, garden waste or separately as a dedicated service, it remains in the there is a high level of deprivation amongst the population, which residual waste. the Tees Valley Councils and the Tees Valley Combined Authority Bulky Collections and Trade Waste3 are working to overcome. It is well known that this situation also All Councils offer a charged bulky household waste collection for presents challenges for the provision and operation of efficient larger household items waste management services in particular waste avoidance and high recycling rates. Four of the five Tees Valley local authorities provide a trade waste service. In Middlesbrough businesses are directed to use suitable Council Waste Services contracted services. Waste collection services are provided by each local authority through in house services teams. Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) HWRCs are sites to which residents can take items that cannot be Kerbside Collections collected as they are either difficult or costly to collect from All councils offer a fortnightly dry recycling collection service, the households, e.g. electrical items, household chemicals, furniture principal materials collected are paper, card, cans, glass, and plastic bottles. Some councils also collecting plastic tubs, pots and trays 3Waste collected by the councils from commercial properties
5 and rubble. There are currently four HWRCs across the Tees Valley, colour coded by each Council’s contribution to total arisings. The where residents can take household waste to be re-used, recycled actual tonnage data are provided in the Annex. or disposed of. Residents from each council have access to the In addition to the waste collected by local authorities there remains HWRC in their home council area, with the exception of a significant proportion of waste that is generated by commercial Middlesbrough where residents have access to the Haverton Hill and industrial, construction and demolition activities, which is HWRC (in Stockton-on-Tees), which is jointly managed by managed by private waste contractors. This is not dealt with by Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees Councils. local authorities’ and is therefore not a focus of this strategy A variety of materials are accepted for recycling at all of the HWRCs document. including wood, oil, batteries, paper, card, metals, textiles, glass, furniture, plastic bottles, garden waste and electrical equipment.
Treatment and Disposal With the exception of Darlington, household residual waste is treated through an Energy from Waste (EfW) combustion facility at Billingham in Stockton-on-Tees. The residual waste collected from Darlington is currently treated through a residual waste MRF at Aycliffe Quarry, from where the Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) produced is exported to an EU based EfW facility.
How much waste is produced in Tees Valley? In 2016/2017 just over 350,000 tonnes of LACW was produced across Tees Valley. This tonnage is equivalent to approximately 1 tonne per household per annum (in 2016/17). Figure 3 Total LACW produced in the Tees Valley 2010-11 to 2016- 17 A summary of the total arisings in the Tees Valley is shown in Error! Reference source not found., this covers the last 7 years and is
6 Waste Trends Combined Authority is realised, this could increase population and The amount of waste produced in 2016/17 can be compared with housing further resulting in between 392,00 to 420,00 tonnes of the tonnage produced since 2010/11. The tonnage data shows a LACW by 2035. decline up to 2012/13 followed by a steady increase back to the For the purposes of waste strategy planning it has been assumed 2010/11 figure. Over this time waste trends have tended to mirror that the future waste growth rate will be approximately 0.25% per patterns of economic decline and growth. annum. There are, however, other factors that influenced these figures including housing growth, local authority waste prevention activities and weather conditions (which has an impact on the amounts of garden waste produced). Overall since 2012/13, at the Tees Valley level, the waste produced per household has remained relatively static just below 1 tonne per household per year. At the individual council level, Darlington, Hartlepool and Stockton-on- Tees have seen small deceases whilst Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland experiencing small increases.
Looking forward, across all the council areas population and housing is predicted to increase to 2035. These predicted increases in population and housing means that more waste is likely to be generated across the Tees Valley area, which will also need to be Figure 4 Range of forecast tonnages up to 2035 managed. Recycling and Composting Performance A range of waste growth scenarios have been considered based on Over the last seven years there has been little change in the local and national trends. The resulting waste forecasts indicate quantity of material collected for recycling and composting across that between 373,000 to 399,00 tonnes of LACW (Figure 4 ) will be Tees Valley. In 2016/17, the combined household waste recycling produced by 2035 compared to the 352,000 tonnes produced in rate for the Tees Valley Councils was 34%. 2016/17. If the economic regeneration planned by the Tees Valley
7 Figure 5 shows the household recycling rates between 2010/11 and Treatment and Disposal Performance 2016/17 for England, the North East region and the combined rate Whilst recycling performance has not changed over recent years, for the Tees Valley Councils. The figure highlights that whilst the there has been a notable improvement in the recovery of LACW performance in Tees Valley is below the national average, the trend and its diversion from landfill. is consistent with national performance with household recycling Figure 6 shows that since 2010/11 there has been: rates remaining relatively static.
a 13% increase in the amount of waste recovered through In addition, the household recycling rates in Tees Valley are energy recovery; comparable with those achieved across the North East region. a 10% reduction in the amount of waste sent to landfill
Figure 5 Household recycling rates for Tees Valley, England and Figure 6 Tees Valley LACW Management Methods 2010/11 to the North East region 2016/17
8 Our Vision for the Future – Sustainable Waste Strategy Objectives Management Over the period of the strategy the Tees Valley Councils will seek to achieve the following objectives, always recognising the challenges The Tees Valley Joint Waste Management Strategy aims to deliver a of delivering increasing levels of high quality recycling efficiently high quality, accessible and affordable waste management service and economically and support from central Government: that contributes to: Waste generation: Aim to maintain the current level of below 1 tonne of household economic regeneration, including employment and a more waste per household. circular economy;
the protection of the environment and natural resources; and Reuse and recycling:
reducing the carbon impact of waste management. Increase reuse, recycling and composting of household waste from the current levels to: and: 45% to 50% in the first five year of this strategy (2020 to 2025); delivers customer satisfaction; between 2025 and 2030 seek to further improve reuse, recycling reduces the amount of waste generated by householders and and composting beyond the 2025 levels; the Councils; set targets for beyond 2030 during the strategy review in 2025. increases reuse and recycling; Waste recovery and landfill diversion: then maximises recovery of waste, and; provide sufficient waste recovery capacity to ensure that no more works towards zero waste to landfill. than 10% of LACW waste is landfilled.
The Tees Valley Councils, acting in partnership, are committed to How Do We Achieve the Strategy Vision? working towards this vision for waste management. This includes supporting the necessary changes in behaviour and practice whilst To achieve the strategy for waste management in Tees Valley all at the same time balancing financial commitments and budgets to parties and stakeholders will need to work together; this means all provide a high-quality service supporting local self-sufficiency. residents participating and contributing, supported by initiatives from the Tees Valley Councils. There are many different actions that can be taken to support the strategy and produce a visible change. Education will be key in changing attitudes and behaviour and thus improving performance against the objectives and targets.
9 A wide range of options across the waste hierarchy have been scenario recycling performance, through a considered, with different combination of the following options reduction in residual waste collection being testing through an options appraisal. capacity and introducing a charge for garden waste services Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling Options High recycling Which would look at increasing dry Raising waste Various campaigns designed to raise performance scenario recycling performance through awareness and awareness and increase participation in introducing separate food waste education campaigns waste prevention and reuse activities, collections, reducing residual waste including: collection capacity and introducing a charge for garden waste services general education and waste prevention initiatives; Alongside these primary options: general reuse initiatives Bulky Waste Sorting of bulky waste collections to Love Food Hate Waste Recycling extract recyclable goods in order to Junk Mail improve recycling performance, including promoting smart shopping practices awareness and promotional campaigns of Home Composting / Promote home composting (or anaerobic the services provided. Digestion digestion) to reduce the demand on Quality: Reducing Stronger engagement with residents to collection services and treatment capacity contamination in increase public understanding of the Reuse at HWRCs Install facilities at HWRCs that allow recycling/composting issues associated with contamination of members of the public to leave and collect recycling/composting collections to items such as furniture, including deliver behaviour change. Combined with awareness and promotional campaigns of tighter management of contamination the service. across all Tees Valley councils. Bulky Collection Sorting of bulky waste collections to Reuse extract reusable goods with a view to refurbishment, reuse and resale, including awareness and promotional campaigns.
Recycling and Composting Collection Options High efficiency Which would look at increasing dry
10 Residual Waste Treatment Options Full details of the assessment are included in the Options Appraisal The primary waste treatment option at the Tees Valley level: Report.
Further contract extension (beyond 2025) for the existing EfW The Preferred Option contract The Options Appraisal process identified the following preferred New build energy recovery facility option: New build refuse derived fuel facility (RDF) adoption of prevention, reuse and recycling initiatives; Utilise third party energy recovery facility capacity the introduction of high recycling collections including separate Options Appraisal food waste collections; and Twenty combinations of these options were considered against the a new energy recovery facility with the ability to utilise the following criteria: heat produced, through the development of Combined Heat and Power (CHP). Delivers an accessible service with engagement and customer satisfaction The Preferred Option would: Reduces the amount of waste generated by householder and Contribute to reducing the amount of waste generated managed by the Councils from baseline forecast compared to the baseline forecast; Increases reuse and recycling Increase the recycling and composting rate by 13-14% by the Maximises recovery of waste midpoint of the Strategy period (2027) to bring the overall Working towards zero waste to landfill recycling and composting rate to between 45-50%. This is a Economic regeneration, including employment and a more significant improvement on the current performance and circular economy reflects the challenges faced in an urban industrial setting; Protection of the environment and natural resources Further increase the recovery of waste by 3-4%; Reducing the carbon impact of waste management Further reduce the waste sent to landfill; Affordable (long term measure) Reduce the carbon impact of waste management; and Deliverability Create/secure employment within Tees Valley.
11 Delivering the Preferred Option Policy 4: Waste Collections We will increase the proportion of material that is collected for The 2008 JWMS set out a series of policies to support the recycling and composting through kerbside schemes, bring sites implementation of the strategy. These existing policies are still and HWRCs. valid and consistent with the refreshed strategy aims and Policy 5: Waste Treatment Facilities objectives. We will maximise the amount of material that is recycled, Therefore, the existing policies are to be retained to help each composted or recovered from the residual waste stream. Council develop local solutions against a consistent policy Policy 6: Residual Waste Stream framework. We will minimise the amount of waste that is disposed of in line Policy 1: Joint Working with our principle of working towards zero waste to landfill. We will continue to work together in partnership with other Policy 7: Monitoring and Review stakeholders in order to ensure sustainable waste management We will regularly monitor and review this Strategy in consultation within the Tees Valley to protect the natural environment. We will with stakeholders and the public to ensure that it links with other strive for sub-regional self-sufficiency and be mindful of the plans and strategies. proximity principle.
Policy 2: Sustainable Waste Management We will ensure that the services delivered by the Tees Valley Authorities implement methods of sustainable waste management in line with the Waste Hierarchy.
Policy 3: Waste Awareness and Prevention We will work with partners to promote waste awareness and prevention and encourage householders, schools and local businesses to reduce the impact of their behaviour with regards to their waste stream.
12 Next Steps
This overarching Strategy document provides a framework for action in Tees Valley.
Following the adoption of the overarching Strategy, each of the Tees Valley Councils will develop an individual action plan to tailor the delivery of the preferred option to complement their current services and reflect their specific local circumstances and operations.
Measuring Success
There are several ways in which success can be measured and progress against the strategy can be determined.
The performance of the JWMS will be monitored against the following performance measures.
Performance measures Unit/metric Waste generation: Waste generated per household per year Reuse and recycling % of waste recycled per year Waste recovery and % of waste landfilled per year landfill diversion
The Strategy will be reviewed every five years. Progress on delivery of this Strategy will be regularly reported.
13 Glossary of Terms AD Anaerobic Digestion JWMS Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy AQMA Air Quality Management Area LACW Local Authority Collected Waste BAP Biodiversity Action Plan LATS Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme
CH4 Methane MRF Materials Recovery Facility CHP Combined Heat and Power N2O Nitrous Oxide
CO2 Carbon dioxide PO4 Phosphates DCLG Department of Communities and Local Government RDF Refuse Derived Fuel DECC Department of Energy and Climate Change SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment DEFRA Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs SO2 Sulphur Dioxide EA Environment Agency SPA’s Special Protection Area’s EU ETS EU Emission Trading System SPZ’s Source Protection Zones TVJWMS Tees Valley Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest GHG Greenhouse Gases WEEE Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment GWP Global Warming Potential WRAP Waste and Resources Action Programme HPA Health Protection Agency WRATE Waste and Resources Assessment Tool for the HWRC Household Waste Recycling Centre Environment
14 Annex: Waste Management Data
Total LACW arisings in the Tees Valley 2010-11 to 2016-17 Tonnes of LACW Authority 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 Darlington 68,880 65,009 53,809 53,215 54,255 60,221 61,115 Hartlepool 48,995 46,951 46,456 48,394 46,985 46,914 46,524 Middlesbrough 76,858 75,417 71,817 68,235 67,888 71,364 74,399 Redcar and Cleveland 71,715 69,537 66,462 70,384 71,804 70,995 67,612 Stockton-on-Tees 101,997 99,983 99,121 103,582 104,218 102,613 102,466 Tees Valley 368,444 356,897 337,664 343,809 345,150 352,107 352,116 Source: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
15 Management of LACW in the Tees Valley 2010-11 to 2016-17 Management of LACW (tonnes and %)3 Authority 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 138,616 139,754 121,598 130,009 137,252 127,986 126,369 Recycled/ Composted 38% 39% 36% 38% 40% 36% 36% 149,359 171,063 175,456 181,777 164,675 166,280 188,870 Incineration with EfW 41% 48% 52% 53% 48% 47% 54% Incineration without 7 8 5 5 6 24 5 EfW 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 67,056 46,078 31,560 21,116 32,514 48,331 26,956 Landfilled 18% 13% 9% 6% 9% 14% 8% 9,699 - 9,037 10,904 10,706 9,482 9,909 Other1 3% 0% 3% 3% 3% 3% 3% Total2 364,737 356,902 337,656 343,811 345,151 352,103 352,108 Notes: 1. Other includes waste treated/disposed through other unspecified treatment processes as well as process and moisture loss. 2. Total Local Authority collected waste managed may not match total Local Authority collected waste arisings due to stockpiling of waste between reporting periods. 3. Inputs to intermediate plants e.g. MBT, Residual MRFs, RDF and other plants prior to treatment and disposal and included in the final treatment and disposal figures. Source: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
16